Capitol Notebook

Friday

Sep 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 28, 2007 at 3:57 AM

Weekly notes from the Capitol.

Play of the Week
Using his favorite tactic of persuasion, Gov. Rod Blagojevich conducted news conferences in various cities throughout the state, touting a proposed construction spending plan and/or his imposed program to offer free breast and cervical cancer screening to all women.
The events apparently were an attempt to pressure legislators in the House to support the construction plan, as well as its funding source of gambling expansion, and to build a groundswell for Blagojevich's program to expand health care in various areas.
In August, he said he would pay for his health care expansions through budget cuts after lawmakers rejected his proposed funding method. However, the governor's staff, apparently worried about the constitutionality of doing that, has said he will find the money elsewhere.
Head Scratcher
Instead of pushing to restore funding for a violence-prevention program that Blagojevich cut from the budget, two Republican lawmakers are proposing a downstate-only program to replace it.
Reps. Bill Mitchell of Mount Zion and Raymond Poe of Springfield say their idea for Operation Safe Streets would be less political than the CeaseFire program, which operated in Chicago, Rockford, Decatur and 22 other cities. They contended that Democratic legislative districts got preference for CeaseFire funding, but the State Police would control Operation Safe Streets money.
But isn't the State Police another agency under the governor?
Quote of Note
"The senators do not believe in fat." -- Senate President Emil Jones, when asked Wednesday by reporters in Chicago if there was any "fat" in the proposed capital budget for the state.
Numbers to Know
Two. That's the number of public hearings that House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, said he wants to conduct on legislation that would expand Illinois' casino gambling industry. The Senate already approved the legislation. Madigan wants one hearing in Chicago and another in Springfield. No dates have been set so far.
$463 million. The amount that Blagojevich cut from the state budget to pay for his expanded health care programs. The House will vote this week on restoring some, or all, of the money.
Coming Up
Oct. 2 to 4: The Illinois Senate and House of Representatives return to the State Capitol for the first week of a scheduled two-week "veto session." Despite that name, lawmakers may deal with other topics in addition to legislation that the governor vetoed.